The present disclosure relates generally to application programs, and particularly, to web-based applications.
Product distribution partnerships between different software companies have grown in recent years. In a typical arrangement of such a partnership, product features or services provided by one company are integrated or bundled together with a product, for example, a software application program, developed and distributed to end users by another company. For example, an application program (e.g., a web browser) developed by one company may include a search toolbar for performing web searches via a web search engine of a partner company. Such a product distribution partnership may be mutually beneficial for both companies, as integrating product features from one partner company into the products of another may add value to the existing products and services offered by each company.
However, integrating product features or services provided by one company into an existing product (e.g., standalone application program) of another may be a complex and expensive process for one or both companies in terms of product development and support costs. Such costs may include, for example, implementation costs associated with customizing the application program and bundled features for a particular operating system or type of computing device. Further, compatibility issues may arise when a new product update released for either the application program or bundled feature component is installed for an existing version of such a bundled application program.